Levels of physical activity in structured and active games in children between 6 and 12 years old

Abstract: Many children do not reach the recommendations regarding insufficient levels of physical activity (PA) and the high times of exposure to screens. The structured and active games would be a great strategy to increase the PA and decrease the time in front of screens. The aim was to describe the intensities of PA reached in selected structured games, and their relation with the recommendation of PA for children. Participants included 30 normal weight children (20 males and 10 females), in these age groups: 6-7, 8-9 and 10-12 years. They performed 32 games of 6 min 50 sec (± 1min 42 sec) of average duration each, in 6 sessions, and with pauses of 5-6 minutes between games. The intensity of PA was determined by systematic observation (SOFIT) and accelerometry, categorizing PA intensity according to cut-off points by Evenson et al. (2008). Means and SD were calculated for variables of accelerometry (cpm) and SOFIT. There were contrasts between sexes and age groups, considering the group and each game. Variables of accelerometry were correlated with those of SOFIT. The significance was p <0.05. 10 games belong to moderate AF, and 22 to upper limit of light. There were significant differences, for cpm, between 8-9 and 6-7 years, and between genders, in 5 games. Moderate and vigorous PA and cpm (r = 0.36, p = 0.04) were correlated. It is concluded that this type of games reveal a substantive contribution to the recommendations of PA for children, and the decrease of screen time.